Project S Book 2
by proman232
Summary: At last, it's over. *FINAL CHPT UP*
1. Drinks

_Elise walked up the stairs of the tower, wondering about the last three days. After the daemon had attacked Alex, it hadn't shown itself anywhere. Alex thought it was because it knew it was up against something more powerful than itself, but he wasn't sure. The autopsy results showed total invulnerability to any form of attack. Bullets, blades, explosives, nothing worked. Then Alex tried torching it, and he almost destroyed the entire sample. He had left soon after, mumbling something about this being the final straw, and freedom. That's what she was going to ask him about._

_As she neared the door, she heard voices. Faintly, she could hear Alex talking to someone. She couldn't make out their words until she got to the door itself. She tried to remember where she had heard the other voice. She also couldn't recall if anyone other that the City Guard had come in or out of the palace in the last few days. She put an ear to the door and listened._

_"I don't care. I already told you. Paying customers are exempt as long as they are paying."_

_"Then you will wait until you have no paying customers, and you will do as ordered."  
Orders? Who's orders was he supposed to follow?  
"No deal. There has to be another way. I'll find you one. You report back that I'm unwilling to proceed, due to personal reasons. I will attempt to find an alternative."_

_"And if you can't?"  
The next words somehow gave Elise chills._

_"Shit happens."_

_"Very well. I will pass on the message." There was a pause. Elise could hear a lighter, and an exhale shortly after. "But, now I must be off. You should get back to work. I'm sure you know that other hunters will need that English copy of the Folio." She heard Alex grunt. She opened the door._

I turned as I heard the footsteps. "Mornin', sweetheart. You look tired." She took in my clothes. I was wearing a simple dark blue t-shirt and blue jeans, with black shoes. My jumpsuit was being repaired after the attack. "Well, it's nice to see you wearing something more appropriate for the day, even if you still haven't taken the glasses off." She moved over to the balcony where I stood. "I thought I didn't want any smoking while indoors?" I looked at the cigarette in my hand. "That's why I'm on the balcony. Was there something you wanted? I've got a lot of work to do." She looked peeved. "Listen, I am the monarch of this country, and I expect more than that, in terms of attitude, out of you." "Listen, sweetheart, I do what I do. There is no exception. You could be the ruler of the universe, and I still wouldn't care. Now, you wanted something?" She leaned on the rail. "Yes. I heard some voices in here on my way up, but there's no one else here." Something reflected in her expression. I could tell she knew she was headed into dangerous territory with that question. "Oh, that. That was just an old audio log I recorded years ago. I was reviewing them to decide whether to keep them."

I walked over to the bar I had put in to mix drinks. "Drinking at 10 in the morning, eh? Somehow, this comes as no surprise." I ignored her, instead focusing on the cocktail I was mixing. I measured the absinthe, creme de menthe, vodka, and the milk, then shook them over ice. I strained into a collins glass with ice, and drank. "What are you drinking?" I felt the familiar warm sensation of the thujone moving through my system. "Green Russian. Have they found anything about the daemon's lair yet?"

"Yes. It seems that it has made a home in Kingdom Valley, where the ruins of the old royal palace stand." I eyed her curiously. "This didn't start a month ago. It began prior to that, didn't it?" "What do you mean?" "I mean, you trespassed on it's lair long enough for it to mark you, and now it wants blood. Well, normally I would simply say to make peace with your god, but I'm willing to go farther, since I have my own reasons to do this." "Very well. I will take you to Kingdom Valley. Just tell me when you are ready."


	2. Dreams

I stood over the body of my opponent. I could feel the the power coursing through my every molecule. I had become one with it, and it had become one with me. I looked down upon that which had tormented me for many years. He made no attempt to resist. Even he knew it was over. "So, this is how it finally ends, is it? You, with all your power, have defeated me? Ask yourself, will you destroy me? If you do, then even you must know that you will be as dark as I. Are you willing to live your life with that stain on your conscience?" I grabbed him by his collar. "Next to all the others you inflicted?" I raised my hand.

"Yes." I struck.

The sound of a knock at the door woke me up. I was sitting at the desk in the tower, where I had been transcribing the Folio Daemonia into English. I looked up at the clock. It was 1 AM. Who would be knocking at this hour? I stood up, limbs complaining, and went to the door. I opened it to find Elise, wearing a nightgown, looking faintly worried. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you asleep?" "Uh, kinda. What's wrong?" She looked embarrassed. "Well, I had a nightmare. I just couldn't get to sleep after, I just didn't feel safe in there. So I decided to come up here." She looked even more embarrassed. "But, I probably shouldn't. It's probably not good to have the monarch running to the first person she can find after a bad dream." She turned to leave. "Wait, you're probably right. Some daemons can induce paranoia in their targets, which can lead to nightmares, which gives a lasting sense of dread. This makes it easier for them to bring down their targets. If you think it's safer here, you're probably right."

She turned around. "Well, if you think so." She came in. "You can have the bed. I'll probably fall asleep at the desk again. If I fall asleep." She looked concerned. "When was the last time you got sleep?" She sure got to the point. "I don't remember. I only sleep when I dream, and even then, I don't really dream anymore." Puzzled, she climbed into the bed. "I don't understand." "When I do dream, it's not the kind of dream coming from the subconscious. It's all premonitions. Every dream I have comes true at one point or another." I sat down on the bed. "Sometimes I see exactly what's going to happen, but can't understand without context. Other times, the meaning is cryptic, but comes to me later."

She looked empathetic. "Ever since daddy died, I haven't had a single dream where he wasn't there. It's like I want him alive so badly that my mind creates him for me, but then I wake up, and suddenly reality hits me." She looked sad. "Well, we should get some sleep. Climb into bed, you need it." "You don't mind sharing a bed with a stranger?" "Well, it's only for one night." I came to a decision. "Tomorrow, we will go to Kingdom Valley and end this." She smiled. "Ok." I climbed into bed, reached over to turn off the light, and slept.


	3. Stress Relief

I sat on the balcony holding my guitar. I strummed a few notes, tuning it, since I hadn't touched it in a month. "So, you need me to go with you as bait? Are you sure about this? I'm not sure that's a good idea." "Listen, it won't come out for me, but it will come out for you. I can mask myself, and ambush it easily enough. All I need is bait." I continued strumming the guitar, as she paced to the balcony. I thought about what was going to happen. It was finally going to end. All of it. 5000 years. Done. The thought dredged up others about the past, and soon I was swamped with memories. I became overwhelmed. I thought about life, but it wasn't enough. Frustrated, I recalled the one thing that could break this.

I strummed a chord.

_"I can hear what you're thinkin'. _

_All your doubts and fears._

_And if you'll look in my eyes, in time_

_You'll find the reason I'm here._

_And in time all things shall pass away._

_In time, you may come back, some day_

_To live once more,_

_Or die once more,_

_But in time your time will be no more."_

_Elise tried to interject, but he kept playing._

_"You know your days are numbered._

_Count 'em one by one._

_Like notches in the handle of an outlaw's gun._

_You can outrun the Devil, if you try,_

_But you will never outrun the hands of time._

_In time there'll surely come a day,_

_In time all things shall pass away,_

_In time you may come back, some say._

_To live once more,_

_Or die once more, but in time your time will be no more."_

I played the solo, pouring my heart into the notes as I played. I learned this song in a bar in 2108 from an old man. It seemed to resonate within me. He told me to play it when the memories got too harsh. He then gave me the guitar, payed for his drinks, and left. I never saw him again. I finished the solo.

"I can hear what you're thinkin'..."  
I strummed the last chord.

Elise looked astonished. Before she could say anything, I spoke. "So, how are we getting to Kingdom Valley?"


	4. Duel with Death

_Elise walked through the ruins of the old palace, wondering if he was right. Was she really safe, coming into the lair of thing that had been tormenting her for over a month? Could he really kill it? She caressed the broken stones, remembering her last visit. She had been a captive of Dr. Eggman aboard his Egg Carrier, until Sonic had rescued her with the help of Silver and Blaze. She had another bout of deja vu. Sonic had told her later that she had actually died when the Carrier exploded, but he and Silver had used Chaos Control together to warp time, and save her. She did not remember anything about that scenario._

_A sudden scraping of claws on stone snapped Elise from her thoughts. "So, decided to return and hand yourself over, eh? Spare the pain of running and hiding? I don't blame you." Elise suddenly felt a primal fear take hold of her entire body. She froze. She couldn't even make a sound. The daemon advanced. "Well, since you were so kind as to come to me for the slaughter, I will make it painless. It will take hours before I am done with you, but you won't feel a thing." She felt calm, snapped from whatever aura the daemon carried. She tried to run, but found she needn't have worried. The voice rang clear in the evening air._

"BOHK SHU'RAHNA!" I dropped from my perch behind the daemon. It turned, baring its fangs. "What are you doing here, morsel? Come for another round?" I drew my sword. "Kill me." "What?" "I said, kill me. Kill me now, before I kill you." It chuckled. "Big talk for such a small human." It charged. I raised my sword to meet it. I felt a claw sink into my leg. Fortunately, the steel plates stopped it from going to deep, but I was still left with a flesh wound. I rolled to the right, sprang up, and with lightning speed, plunged straight for its neck. I moved, swinging its regrown tail at me. I ducked, feeling the wind against my neck. I tackled it off a cliff, into a ravine. Jumping to my feet, I raised the sword.

"You really are an immortal, aren't you?" "What was your first clue?" It snarled, throwing its full weight at me, knocking me on my ass. I countered with its own momentum, throwing it into a pillar. The heavy stones fell, hitting it on the head. It lay dazed. I seized the opportunity. Grabbing the sword, which I had dropped when it pinned me, I jumped atop its fallen form, and plunged the blade into its head. It writhed for a moment, then stopped.

I turned to see Elise looking down with a smile on her face. She couldn't see it under the cowl, but her smile gave me one of my own. I started to head over to the cliff wall to climb back up. I saw her expression change to one of pure horror. I briefly wondered why, until the pain hit. I looked down to see a claw protruding through my stomach. It pulled back. I teetered over the edge of the cliff, and saw Bohk Shu'Rahna, still barely alive, staring at me. I grabbed its tail as I fell, pulling it with me. As the world began to fade, I caught a glimpse of my watch. 8:35 PM, August 30th, 2017. I was 23 years old.

**END BOOK 2**


	5. Saga One Epilogue

_He stood on the cliff, overlooking the whole thing. The gentle breeze, though it meant nothing to him, still insisted on scattering dust and gravel on his finely polished shoes. He wasn't necessarily human, but he still had human pride, his shoes being a source of that pride. But, he paid it no heed, as he could warp reality to a certain extent, and would simply will his shoes polished when he was away from the valley. He looked down at the girl. He wasn't incredulous at the sight, merely annoyed. His orders had been clear. Why they were not yet carried out, he could not guess. For all his ability as a handler, he could not understand other minds. Why they resisted, when they could be given such power was a mystery. One he never cared to solve._

_The girl wept silently at the loss of him. A platoon of soldiers came up behind her, and led her away. Suddenly, he heard the cell phone ringing in his briefcase. Why they insisted on him carrying such an antiquated device gave him no end of confusion. He answered, and the voice on the other end began listing his next instructions, before inquiring current status. "It seems we are in need of a new agent." The voice held disbelief, and accusations. "Call it what you want, but he is dead. I will begin the search immediately. Once I locate his Time Stone, of course." The voice began to object, but he hung up. He knew of several young people who would gladly take the chance at eternal life, and he would give it to them. And then, he surmised, not caring who or what could tell his thoughts at the moment, he would guide them into first the employers designs, and then his own. _

_As he turned to leave, he thought he saw motion in the ravine below, where Alex had fallen. He paid it no mind, though, as new prospects began to unfold. He walked behind a set of boulders, their very existence as implacable as he, and stepped into nothing._

**_END SAGA ONE_**


	6. Author's Notes

Jan 19/14 11:54 PM: Wow, that took a long time to get to. I'm sorry about the wait, but my work schedule has changed from early shifts to late shifts, so I should be able to write more frequently. For the next two weeks. Bye!

Jan 21/14 1:51 PM: There's chapter 2. Hopefully, I should have two chapters for you tomorrow, but I'm not promising anything. I may have the day off, but I have a lot of stuff to do anyway, so don't expect much.

Feb 4/14 5:16 PM: Good. God. I have no idea what happened, but I do know that shit's fucked at work, and I have been very tired the last few days. In return for the failure to update, I'm going to post the last three chapters of the book. Hopefully by midnight, we should see them up. I'm hungry. I want a burrito.


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